Aaron's, a lease-to-own chain with more than 1,860 company-operated and franchised stores in 47 states and Canada, bought substantially all of its largest franchisee, SEI/Aaron’s Inc., for around $140 million in cash. Aaron's president and CEO John Robinson III said in the company's earnings call on Friday that the SEI team will be transitioning over to Aaron's.

SEI was founded in 1995 and currently serves more than 90,000 customers through 104 Aaron’s stores in 11 states, primarily in the Northeast, according to the company.

“We’re excited to bring the SEI team and stores into the Aaron’s organization,” said John Robinson, CEO, Aaron’s. “Founder Charles Smithgall, CEO Chas Smithgall and SEI’s president and COO, Dave Edwards, have built an outstanding business over the last 22 years, with a deep leadership team and strong profitability.” — Matthew Kramer, Home World Business